U.S. President Donald Trump had some kind words for Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum as he issued a partial reprieve to Mexico for tariffs while accusing Justin Trudeau of politicizing the trade dispute for electoral gain.
Trump wrote on his Truth Social account that Mexico “will not be required to pay tariffs on anything that falls under the USMCA agreement.”
The USMCA came into effect in 2020 during the first Trump administration. It replaced the previous NAFTA agreement by modernizing it with stricter manufacturing rules for auto parts and wages.
USMCA also added stronger labour and environmental standards, with additional sections dealing with digital trade.
Trump said the Mexican tariff relief was done as an “accommodation, out of respect for President Sheinbaum, whose relationship has been a very good one, working together on the border.”
Trump’s message of appreciation came only minutes after he took to Truth Social to accuse Trudeau of “using the tariff problem to run again for Prime Minister.”
Trump described the Canadian political scene as “fun to watch,” referring to Trudeau as prime minister rather than governor, as he has been prone to do in recent weeks.
The Mexican tariff relief will last until at least Apr. 2, likely linked to further cooperation on mutual issues of security, migration and trade.
Sheinbaum praised and thanked Trump for the call and agreed to continue working together on migration issues.
Sheinbaum expects that at the Apr. 2 deadline, the United States will announce a policy of reciprocity regarding tariffs.
Sheinbaum held a press conference in Mexico City, in which she celebrated the work of her government forces for seizing fentanyl en route to the U.S. border, resulting in a sharp decrease in fentanyl encounters for the U.S. border patrol agency.
The 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods and 10 per cent on energy from Canada imposed by the United States Mar. 4 remain in place.
Canada’s response to the U.S. has been to apply a 25 per cent tariff on $30 billion on US goods imported into Canada, with an additional $125 billion in tariffs targeting a wide range of U.S. exports into Canada including fruits, clothing, beer and household appliances.
Provincial governments have been working on their own responses. Ontario Premier Doug Ford has removed U.S. alcohol from provincial liquor stores and ripped up a contract with Elon Musk’s Starlink company, worth around $100 million to provide its internet services in Northern Ontario.
Ford also called on retailers to apply a “made in Canada” label onto Canadian products in order to inform and encourage Ontario’s consumers to buy Canadian. He has also threatened to mandate such measures if stores choose not to cooperate.
Most recently, interprovincial trade barriers have become a national discussion surrounding the Canadian economy amid U.S. tariffs, most provinces have convened together to strike a deal to remove internal trade barriers on Canadian booze, with the only exceptions being New Brunswick and P.E.I. which chose not to join the accord.
Trade Minister Anita Anand has announced that half of the federal government’s previous internal trade barriers have been removed, to boost internal Canadian trade, further decreasing Canada’s dependence on the U.S. for goods.